Even though 2016 turned out to be a stand out year for Lenovo, when considering the introduction of not only its “Modular” Moto and Moto Z Force, but also the release of its Tango-ready Phab 2 Pro, however, the most unique announcement that we have seen to date is Lenovo’s foldable tablet/smartphone hybrid. A year onward, the concept still isn’t the least bit concrete, however, it is indeed good to see that Lenovo is still working on it all.
Many experts have talked to Lenovo about the concept, and what remains to be sticking point in further developments, and Lenovo stated that the issue was not to get the display to fold, rather how it actually bends out. Lenovo solves this problem with usage of a stretchy plastic looking cover that sits just above the panel itself – however, the problem arises with the fact that this would not exactly be invisible, as the cover distorts a bit at certain angles, with the distortion making it possible to see the plastic cover.
Folio is the name given to the prototype, and except this, not much has really changed. As with last year’s prototype, the Folio features bending points in the middle, which allow the device to change from a 5.5-inch smartphone to a 7.8-inch tablet. Based on a recent hands-on video published on YouTube, Lenovo customized Android 7.0 Nougat to allow the UI to reconfigure itself to use up as much screen space as possible.
The UI would obviously become more wider once the Folio is turned into a tablet. But there is also the presence of smaller reconfigurations, and amongst these include the rear half of the display being used to give a live preview to those whose picture is being taken, while the UI itself seems to run a bit smoother compared to when we last saw it.
